By Tuesday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. local time, the Green Bay Packers need to have their roster reduced to 53 players. After a month of practices, two joint practices and three preseason games, Matt LaFleur and Brian Gutekunst have the information required for making the hard decisions on the initial 53-man roster.
UPDATE: The Packers traded for quarterback Malik Willis on Monday.
Here’s a final prediction entering Tuesday:
Offense (23)
QB (2): Jordan Love, Sean Clifford
RB (3): Josh Jacobs, MarShawn Lloyd, Emanuel Wilson
WR (7): Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, Bo Melton, Malik Heath, Grant DuBose
TE (3): Luke Musgrave, Tucker Kraft, Ben Sims
OL (8): Rasheed Walker, Elgton Jenkins, Josh Myers, Sean Rhyan, Zach Tom, Jordan Morgan, Andre Dillard, Jacob Monk
The Packers probably can’t risk both Clifford and Michael Pratt to waivers, so Clifford — the more experienced backup option — stays, for now. It’s possible a veteran is added on Wednesday and Pratt immediately returns on the practice squad. A.J. Dillon goes to IR while he recovers from a stinger, while Lloyd avoids IR because he needs all the practice time he can get early in the season after missing most of camp. All seven receivers deserve to make the roster, and the final three can play special teams. Tyler Davis is coming back from a major injury, had a terrible preseason appearance and is now hurt again. The Packers’ top eight along the offensive line are solid, the three backups have versatility and Royce Newman can’t make the roster again. With only eight, an outside addition might be required.
Defense (27)
DE (5): Rashan Gary, Preston Smith, Lukas Van Ness, Kingsley Enagbare, Brenton Cox Jr.
DL (5): Kenny Clark, TJ Slaton, Devonte Wyatt, Karl Brooks, Colby Wooden
LB (6): Quay Walker, Isaiah McDuffie, Eric Wilson, Edgerrin Cooper, Ty’Ron Hopper, Kristian Welch
CB (6): Jaire Alexander, Eric Stokes, Keisean Nixon, Carrington Valentine, Corey Ballentine, Kalen King
S (5): Xavier McKinney, Javon Bullard, Evan Williams, Anthony Johnson Jr., Kitan Oladapo
Cox, Welch and King all earned spots this preseason. You can never have enough pass-rushers and corners, and Welch is both insurance at linebacker and a core special teamer.
Specialists (3)
K: Anders Carlson
P: Daniel Whelan
LS: Matt Orzech
Carlson is the kicker, for now. He could easily be replaced on Wednesday by a waiver wire addition.
IR (2)
RB A.J. Dillon, TE Tyler Davis
Top practice squad candidates
QB Michael Pratt, RB Ellis Merriweather, WR Samori Toure, WR Julian Hicks, TE Joel Wilson, TE Henry Pearson, OT Kadeem Telfort, OT Travis Glover, OT Caleb Jones, OL Donovan Jennings, DE Arron Mosby, DL Jonathan Ford, DL James Ester, Christian Young, LB Chris Russell Jr., CB Robert Rochell, CB Gemon Green, S Zayne Anderson
